


Screwed

by Wrespawn



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Bondage, Flirting, In Public, Innuendo, Knifeplay, M/M, accidentally got a bit romantic, and a lot more hardware themed innuendo, this has less sex than you think
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2019-06-20
Packaged: 2020-05-15 08:57:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19292473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wrespawn/pseuds/Wrespawn
Summary: It’s a normal morning shift in the hardware store where Ryan works, until a tattooed man walks in.Warnings: Endless hardware-themed innuendo, semi-public canoodling, bondage, notes of knife kink.  The power roles in this are a little dodgy because it’s a customer and a customer service person, but no one is uncomfortable in this story.





	Screwed

Morning shift at the hardware store was slow.

Ryan wandered the aisles, thumbing the occasional tool and re-organizing the occasional paint swatch, wondering why the store opened this early on a Saturday. A dim morning coolness still gripped the air outside, the roads just beginning to hum with traffic. So far, he’d yet to encounter a customer as he wandered the wide, echoing halls between the towering shelves of tools and supplies.

Ryan didn’t understand the morning shift, but that didn’t mean he didn’t enjoy it. Mostly, it was quiet, but the few customers he got were always his favorites. Anyone who woke up this early on a Saturday with hardware on their mind was someone with a passion for their project. Ryan liked working with customers like that.

The next aisle he turned down wasn’t as deserted as the rest. Someone was perusing the merchandise. As the customer turned, bringing himself into better view, Ryan couldn’t help doing a little perusing of his own. The man was sharply dressed, had well-kept facial hair, and… damn, miles of tattoos down his arms. Ryan watched those careful hands dance thoughtfully over the shelves of screws, each movement precise…

… He was growing a little jealous of that hardware shelf.

Ryan bit his lip. Damn if morning customers weren’t always the best ones. He put on his best customer service grin and strode down the aisle. The customer looked up as he approached, sharp eyes settling first on his face and then scanning all the way down, taking in a lot more than his name tag.

Well, that was promising.

Ryan gestured to the wall of hardware, still wearing the same innocent smile. “Looking for a good, solid screw?”

The man’s eyes drifted back up to his face. “Yes, as a matter of fact I am…” His gaze flicked down to the name tag again briefly. “…Ryan. Maybe you can help me with that.”

“Helping is what I’m here for.” Ryan drummed his fingers against the metal shelving. “What kind of project you workin’ on?”

The man hummed assessingly, turning his gaze to the shelves of hardware. “Hmm, on second thought, maybe screws aren’t what I need.”

“Really? Shame.”

The man flashed him a smile. “Where can I find the zip ties?”

Ryan’s heart jumped. “S-sure! Uh, I mean–” He gestured for the man to follow. “Just a few aisles down, if you’ll follow me…”

The customer obliged with another smile. Ryan tried to gather himself as he led the man through the quiet store. He liked to think that he had a good read on when someone was flirting with him. The customer was walking awfully close, and he could almost feel the man’s gaze still dragging over his body.

… His cologne smelled expensive. And good.

“There’s definitely benefits to using zip ties over screws.” Ryan continued his casual hardware store small talk as their footsteps echoed softly in the high-ceilinged space. “If they’re gonna be strong enough, that is. Fewer tools, quicker installation, easier to undo.”

“Mmm, yeah, zip ties are awfully convenient.” The man’s voice was a warm purr. “Say… have you ever zip tied and screwed the same thing at once?”

I’d sure like to, said the part of Ryan’s brain that couldn’t resist quipping “Here’s your nut sack” when he handed a customer a bag of nuts. He bit his tongue. Surely that wasn’t what the customer had meant, right?

“Uh– for some projects, that’s a good solution.”

“Mmm. Projects. That’s a nice term.”

The way he said it made Ryan’s spine tingle. He was saved from responding as they reached the appropriate aisle.

“Here you go.” Ryan waved his hand at the shelf. “Our finest assortment of zip ties. We’ve got black, and neon, and… Well, we’ve got black and neon.”

“Mm, I like the black.” The man lifted down a package, turning it between tattooed hands. Ryan couldn’t keep his eyes off the motion of those fingers. “Say, would anyone mind if we opened the package?”

“Nah, not if you’re gonna buy it, man.”

“Excellent.” The man held out the package. “Ryan, would you mind demonstrating for me how the zip ties work? I find I make better decisions when I see the merchandise in action.”

“Uh, sure.” Ryan accepted the package, tearing into it and extracting one thin strip of plastic. He held each end between his fingers, threading one into the other. “You take the flat end, see, and slide it inside… ”

His voice stumbled. The customer didn’t say a word, attentive to each motion of Ryan’s fingers. Ryan swallowed.

“…A-and pull it through. As… as tight as you want.”

He tugged the zip tie, tightening the loop. The man tapped a finger thoughtfully against his lips. His gaze had lifted from the zip tie to Ryan’s face, no less intense.

“I see. And how would it work on… wrists?”

Ryan almost dropped the zip tie. It was hard to keep his voice calm, professional. “W-well, I’d be happy to, uh… demonstrate. On my own wrists. Anything for customer service, right?”

The man laughed softly. “Oh, you are helpful, aren’t you?”

Ryan pulled out a fresh zip tie and wound it around his wrists, holding each end carefully. “I aim to please.”

He threaded the zip tie and tugged. The loop closed around his wrists, pulling them together. He swore he saw the man’s teeth scrape over his bottom lip.

“…You sure do,” the man murmured.

The plastic band was just loose enough that Ryan could twist his wrists out if he tried. His heart was pounding all the same. Furtively, Ryan snuck a glance up and down the aisle. Still empty. Not that there would be a problem if it wasn’t. This was… a totally reasonable implementation of customer service. He was demonstrating the function of the merchandise. There was no reason to be embarrassed of someone seeing this.

Fuck, were his cheeks flushing? Hopefully not visibly.

“Mmm. Thank you, Ryan, that's… very informative.” The man cocked his head, still looking at Ryan’s bound wrists thoughtfully. “Hey, could you pull it tighter?”

Ryan’s breath hitched. "Th-then I wouldn’t be able to get it off…“

“Well…” The man chuckled. “That’s the idea. What good is a zip tie that isn’t tight?”

“O-oh– uh, no good at all, I suppose.” Ryan tugged the zip tie tighter. It locked around his wrists, pinning them against each other, plastic pressing into his skin just firm enough to make him feel trapped. He lifted his bound wrists for inspection. “H-how does that look?”

"Oh, that looks perfect. Could you get it off, do you think?”

“I– I doubt it.”

“Try for me?”

Ryan almost shivered. He tugged, zip tie digging into his wrists as he tried to twist one hand out of the loop. His heart was pounding. "Nnngh– y-yeah, I… I-I’m good and trapped here.“

“And how does it feel?”

Reflexively, Ryan twisted at the zip tie one more time, just to feel the tightness. “J-just right.”

“Good.” The man flicked his fingers, his voice suddenly lighter. “Well, we can’t leave such a helpful customer service man tied up, now can we? Perhaps I can lend you a hand. I’ll just need something sharp…”

The man stepped closer, leaning on the shelving next to Ryan. He lowered his voice for his next words.

“I trust that bulge in your pants is a nice big pocket knife, hm?”

“Ah–” Don’t mention your boner, don’t mention your boner, don’t mention your huge fucking boner- “Y-yeah, that’s my– my pocket knife.”

“Oh, good for you. You come prepared, hm?”

“W-well, it’s helpful in this line of work…”

“I’ll bet it is, Ryan. Oh, but… how are you going to get it out of your pocket?”

“U-uh–”

“I mean, it just seems that you’re kinda… tied up.” The man flicked one finger against the tail of the zip tie that bound Ryan’s hands. It quivered. “I bet you couldn’t get your knife out like this. Kind of ironic, hm?”

“I-I– y-yeah–”

“Here. Let me help you.”

Ryan’s heart thumped as the man’s hand slid into his pocket. He could feel those careful fingers against his leg through the fabric, inches from his cock. They lingered, settling over his thigh, warmth bleeding through the thin fabric inside his pocket, intimately close. As though the only thing separating them was a bedsheet, and now the man would slide his hand higher, moving by touch until he found…

Warm fingers wrapped around the pocket knife, sliding it slowly free. Ryan exhaled audibly as the pressure against his leg was removed, feeling as though a spell had been broken.

The man whistled softly as he turned the knife over. “You’ve got good taste.” He flicked the knife open, and Ryan’s breath caught. “Then again, you’re clearly a man who knows his tools.”

Ryan’s dilated gaze was locked on the edge of the knife as the customer admired the weight and balance. “Uh– th-thanks–”

The man brushed one careful thumb against the edge, letting out another impressed breath. “Mmh. Damn. You sharpen this yourself?”

“Y-yes sir I do.”

“You take good care of your hardware, huh?”

“Nh-” The praise tingled across his skin, settling around his bound wrists, deep in his gut, between his legs. “I-I try.”

“I bet you do.”

The man flipped the knife over in his hand, moving forward in a purposeful stance. Reaching for Ryan’s bound hands. At the last moment he hesitated, and Ryan froze in the act of offering up his wrists.

“Oh, Ryan…” The man tapped the knife against the zip tie, razor tip nearly brushing his skin. “Before we get you out of your predicament, would you mind showing me where the rope is?”

God, his heart was pounding. “I-I should probably h-have my hands free for that,” he protested weakly.

“Actually, it would be helpful if you didn’t. You see–”

“Okay,” Ryan breathed, lowering his arms.

The man chuckled. “…You see, I’m looking for something strong, yet soft. Something a person wouldn’t mind touching for long periods of time, during which they may not be able to move their arms.”

Ryan’s customer service face was rapidly giving way to open arousal. Try as he might, he couldn’t manage a response.

“For my project,” the man added, with a little too much relish. “Of course.”

“…R-right. Uh.” Ryan twisted once at his hands before remembering they were bound. God, he could feel the heat on his cheeks, it must be visible. “Uh. R-right this way.”

He was rapidly running out of non-sexual explanations for the customer’s words and behavior. Ryan tried, unsuccessfully, not to get his hopes up as he led the man to a new aisle. As much as it seemed too good to be true, his lust-addled brain was failing to offer up a different way to interpret things.

He was 90% sure that his handsome customer was bondage-shopping, and Ryan had somehow volunteered to model the merchandise.

“Hey, uh… ” He glanced back over his shoulder as he walked, the movement making him lift his bound hands in front of him, inadvertently putting himself on display. “I didn’t catch your name.”

This time the man’s smile was softer. “Just Geoff is fine.”

“Geoff,” Ryan tried, feeling the unfamiliar name on his tongue. “Nice to meet you, Geoff. I’d shake your hand, but, uh…”

“Heh. Right.”

“So, Geoff…” Ryan turned his gaze forward and tried to keep the question casual. “Do you have a specific person in mind? For the…the rope, I mean?”

Time to find out if this was about bondage or not.

“Mm. Why do you ask?”

“W-well, I just thought… like, how some guys will buy their girlfriend lingerie, but they need the girl in the store to help them guess the size, and, uh…” He took a breath. “If this is for someone in particular, I might be able to–”

“Why Ryan, are you jealous?”

“I–”

“Mm, you know, I might have someone specific in mind,” Geoff admitted. “But it depends.”

“D-depends?”

Geoff chuckled. “Depends on when his shift at the hardware store ends. And how he feels about Italian for dinner.”

Ryan’s heart skipped and his legs almost followed. He kept his stride steady, but he couldn’t keep himself from smiling. “I’m sure he’d love Italian for dinner.”

“Oh, you think so?”

“And I have it on good authority that his shift ends at three.”

“Lucky me!”

They had reached the aisle with the ropes. Ryan turned and gave Geoff a smile that wasn’t quite his customer service smile.

“In that case, sir… maybe I should get the number of the handsome man who, uh…” He lifted his bound wrists sheepishly. “… zip-tied me in my place of work?”

Geoff scoffed playfully. “Now what kind of handsome man would do that to you?” He slipped a pen and a scrap of paper out of his pocket. “Do me a favor, Ryan, since you’ve been so helpful so far: pick out some ropes.”

Suddenly the customer in his own store, Ryan turned to face the shelves. The selection was wide. He scanned the merchandise, the different colors and materials and thicknesses. The bright orange and blue ropes made of thick twists of plastic he discarded immediately. The rough brown ones were dismissed almost as quickly. The softer ropes made of braided nylon he considered for longer.

Ryan jolted as he felt a hand slide into his back pocket. 

“There’s my number,” Geoff murmured behind him. His hand didn’t move. “Go on. Don’t let me stop you.”

Ryan shivered as Geoff’s hand withdrew from his pocket. Still tingling, he selected a looped length of cord, as best he could with his bound hands. He rubbed them carefully between his palms, working his fingers into the weave. These were mostly soft colors; gentle shades of off-white, some twisted with blue like a fabric candy cane. The tiny threads that made up the weave separated easily when he pressed his fingers to them, letting him knead the rope between his fingers. Almost like a stress ball.

“That color suits you.”

Geoff’s voice startled him. Somehow, he’d almost forgotten that the man was there.

“Feels nice?” Geoff pressed. “Think you’d like to feel that wrapped around your palms?”

Ryan’s breath was growing heavy. “T-tie me up and I’ll let you know.”

“Heh, after dinner. Let’s leave something to the imagination, hm?”

“Something like which one of us gets tied up?”

Geoff laughed at that. In place of responding, he took the rope from Ryan’s hand. “I suppose I should cut you free now.” He pulled Ryan’s knife out of his own pocket. “So you can check me out.”

“Ha, man, If you think I haven’t been checking you out–”

Geoff tsked and sternly tapped the knife against Ryan’s wrists. “My purchases, Ryan.”

“…Oh.” Ryan shivered as the sharp tip of his knife tickled over his skin. “Y-yeah, that makes– sense.”

The knife slipped under the zip tie and slid, slicing through the plastic with a soft snap. One finger traced lightly over the red lines left behind by the zip ties, making him shiver.

“Now that looks good on you,” Geoff murmured. Almost reluctantly, he pulled back, closed the knife, and held it out. “Ryan, you’ve been marvelously helpful. When I first came in here, I wasn’t sure what I was gonna do this evening, but now I definitely have plans.”

Ryan took the knife. His cheeks must be as red as his freshly-freed wrists. “Happy to help, sir. Was there anything else I could help you find? Before I… check you out?”

“Mmm, just one more thing. But I’m gonna need a price check.”

“Oh?”

Geoff stepped closer, leaning in until their lips were almost touching. His hand touched Ryan’s hip, then slid forward until it was cupping his very obvious erection.

“How much to take this tool home?” Geoff breathed.

Ryan could’ve passed out from sheer, concentrated horniness. It was like starring in a porno, only he hadn’t read the script. He gulped, mind racing to come up with the perfect answering line.

“…How about a kiss?”

Geoff smiled as he leaned in. “Sounds like a bargain.”

The kiss was brief, no time to savor things with the possibility that someone might walk by, but halfway through Geoff’s hand squeezed and Ryan saw stars. Geoff was as flushed as Ryan as they broke apart.

Ryan smiled. “I didn’t say where I wanted the kiss,” he murmured.

For a moment, Geoff looked caught off guard. Then he laughed. “Ha! I suppose you didn’t, did you?”

“Don’t worry.” Ryan gestured for Geoff to follow, leading him towards the registers. “That one, you can pay me later. I trust you’re a rewards member?”

“I’m not, actually.”

“I’ll get you signed up.” Ryan couldn’t stop smiling, a little spring creeping into his step. “I’ve already got your phone number.”


End file.
